Food and Beverage Operations Management

Run a profitable, safe, and guest-pleasing food and beverage operation

Platform:

Online

In-class

Revised and Updated: 08 October 2026

Date	Venue	Duration
12 - 16 October 2026	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
09 - 13 November 2026	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
07 - 11 December 2026	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
18 - 22 January 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
15 - 19 February 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
12 - 16 April 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
17 - 21 May 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
28 June - 02 July 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
02 - 06 August 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
06 - 10 September 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
11 - 15 October 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days
08 - 12 November 2027	Sandton, Gauteng	5 Days

Course Introduction

Food and beverage is typically a property’s highest-cost, highest-risk, and highest-opportunity department. The difference between a thriving outlet and a shrinking margin usually comes down to a handful of operational disciplines. This course builds those disciplines: menu design that balances guest appeal with cost, inventory, portion, and bar control that protect margin, supplier management that holds quality and price in check, and food safety practice that stands up under real service pressure.

Participants work through practical costing exercises, covering everything from day-to-day portion control to costing a full banqueting function. Where the course is delivered in-house, delegates can use their own menu and cost data. They leave with menu cost sheets, control systems, and pricing structures that they can apply directly to their operation.

Course Objectives

This Food and Beverage Operations Management course equips you to design, control, and improve food and beverage operations that protect margin, maintain compliance, and deliver a consistently strong guest experience. By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Design menus that balance guest appeal with cost and operational feasibility
Apply inventory, portion, and bar control systems that reduce waste and shrinkage
Manage supplier relationships and procurement costs effectively
Maintain food safety and hygiene standards under real operational pressure, including allergen management and the South African regulatory requirements
Plan and cost banquet and event food service for group functions
Calculate cost of sales, gross profit percentage, prime cost, and other core financial metrics
Build pricing structures that protect margin without undermining guest value perception
Design a departmental control framework that catches margin leakage before it compounds
Use basic technology and data to forecast, order, and control more accurately

What Delegates Leave With

Protected Margins: Inventory, portion, and cost controls that stop shrinkage and waste before they erode profit.
Confident Menu Economics: Menus that guests love and that hold up against real food cost and kitchen capacity constraints.
Stronger Supplier Leverage: A structured, repeatable approach to procurement terms and quality control.
Audit-Ready Food Safety: Hygiene and compliance standards that hold up even under peak service pressure.
Profitable Event Service: Costing and planning of banqueting and group functions, with pricing that protects margin at scale.

Who should attend?

Restaurant, Bar, and Banqueting Managers and Supervisors
F&B Cost Controllers and Procurement Staff
Executive Chefs and Kitchen Managers Moving into Broader Operational Roles
Hospitality Owners Overseeing an F&B Outlet
F&B Directors
Catering and Events Managers
Beverage and Bar Operations Managers

Training Methodology

Our diverse instructional approaches ensure effective learning:

– Lectures & Presentations: Engage with expert-driven, stimulating content.
– Course Material: Access well-crafted supporting resources.
– Group Work: Collaborate on discussions and case studies for practical insights.
– Workshops & Role-Play: Participate in immersive, scenario-based activities.
– Practical Application: Focus on applying theoretical knowledge in real situations.
– Post-Training Support: Receive extensive support after training for skill implementation.

Training Outline

Day 1 — Foundations and Menu Design

Module 1: Foundations of F&B Operations Management

Why F&B is a property's highest-cost, highest-risk, and highest-opportunity department
Core F&B departments and how they interrelate operationally
Key F&B performance indicators and what they signal
Linking front of house, kitchen, and financial control into one operating system
Practical Exercise: Map your outlet's cost and risk exposure points

Module 2: Menu Planning and Design

Balancing guest demand, cost, and kitchen capability
Menu engineering: profitability and popularity analysis
Structuring menus for operational efficiency during peak service
Seasonal and local sourcing, dietary needs such as halaal, vegetarian, and plant-based, and allergen information
Practical Exercise: Build a menu engineering matrix for a sample menu

Day 2 — Inventory, Portion Control and Bar Control

Module 3: Inventory, Portion Control, and Waste Management

Inventory systems that protect margin without over-ordering: par levels, stock-taking, and stock rotation
Standardised recipes, yields, portion control, and recipe costing
Identifying and closing common sources of shrinkage
Waste tracking and reduction practices at outlet level, including food waste
Practical Exercise: Design a portion control and waste-tracking system for one menu category

Module 4: Beverage and Bar Control

Beverage costing: pour cost, standard measures, and recipes
Controlling stock, spillage, over-pouring, and theft
Bar stock-takes, variance analysis, and pricing drinks
Responsible service of alcohol, and the basics of liquor licence conditions
Practical Exercise: Calculate beverage cost and variance for a sample bar, and recommend controls

Day 3 — Procurement and Food Safety

Module 5: Procurement and Supplier Management

Costing principles for F&B procurement, and managing price changes
Supplier negotiation techniques that protect quality and price
Quality control checkpoints for incoming goods, and approving suppliers
Managing supplier relationships for consistency and reliability, and contingency when supply is disrupted
Practical Exercise: Draft a supplier scorecard and negotiation checklist

Module 6: Food Safety and Hygiene Under Operational Pressure

South African requirements for food premises: the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, Regulation R638 on general hygiene requirements, and the certificate of acceptability
HACCP principles applied to real kitchen workflows, and the cold chain, including during power outages
Allergen management: identification, cross-contact, and communicating with guests
Managing hygiene standards across shift changes and peak periods, and building a culture of food safety accountability
Practical Exercise: Conduct a food safety walkthrough checklist for a live service period
The regulatory content is an overview, not legal advice.

Day 4 — Banqueting and Event Food Service

Module 7: Banqueting and Event Food Service

Costing and planning food service for group functions
Menu design considerations for banqueting and events
Managing service logistics, staffing, and equipment at scale
Pricing structures for events that protect margin
Practical Exercise: Cost and plan a sample banqueting function from brief to service

Day 5 — Financial Control, Technology and Your Action Plan

Module 8: F&B Financial Control and Profitability

Calculating cost of sales, gross profit percentage, and prime cost (cost of sales plus labour)
Reading and acting on F&B financial reports, and labour scheduling against demand
Setting pricing structures that hold guest value and margin in balance
Building a monthly control cycle to catch margin leakage early
Practical Exercise: Build a monthly F&B financial control checklist for your outlet

Module 9: Technology, Data and Your Action Plan

Point-of-sale, stock control, and ordering systems: what data to use
Using data and AI tools sensibly to forecast demand, reduce over-ordering, and analyse guest reviews
Bringing together your menu, control, safety, and financial actions into one improvement plan
Practical Exercise: Present a one-page F&B improvement plan, with your first 90 days

Course Categories

Office Administration Courses ❯ Audit, Risk And Governance ❯ Compliance Courses ❯ Finance Courses ❯ Human Resources Training & Development ❯ View All Course Categories ❯

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FAQs – Food and Beverage Operations Management

Master food and beverage operations management, covering menu planning, cost control, service standards, inventory, procurement, team management, and operational performance.

What is covered in the Food and Beverage Operations Management course?

The course covers F&B operations management, menu planning, service operations, purchasing and inventory control, cost management, food safety, customer service, staff management and operational performance.

Who should attend the Food and Beverage Operations Management training?

The training is suitable for food and beverage managers, hospitality managers, restaurant and catering supervisors, chefs, operations staff and professionals responsible for managing food and beverage service operations.

Does the course cover menu planning and food and beverage service?

Yes. Participants learn about menu planning, food and beverage service operations, service standards, customer requirements and the coordination of activities needed to deliver efficient and consistent service.

Does the training cover purchasing, inventory and cost control?

Yes. The course addresses purchasing, receiving, storage, stock control, portion management, waste reduction and financial controls that support efficient and profitable food and beverage operations.

Are food safety and quality management included in the course?

Yes. Participants learn about food safety practices, hygiene, quality control and operational procedures that help maintain safe, consistent and customer-focused food and beverage services.

Are practical activities included in the Food and Beverage Operations Management training?

Yes. The training uses practical activities and workplace-focused exercises to help participants apply food and beverage management principles to operational planning, service, cost control and performance improvement.

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Food and Beverage Operations Management

Run a profitable, safe, and guest-pleasing food and beverage operation

Course Objectives

Who should attend?

Course Outline

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